Christian Advice, Devotions, and Encouragement for Single Women

His Eyes Are Always On Us

Like many of you, I had the privilege of being reared around strong Christian women. They demonstrated on a daily basis a relentless faith in God through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. They didn’t have it easy and dealt with some heavy-duty challenges. Many of them raised their children alone, at a time when child support was unheard of. I remember times when their estranged husbands would drop by every now and again. They’d make a small contribution that wouldn’t even be considered a tip for the struggles these women endured. But they were not deterred or discouraged, at least not that I could see. They kept it moving, and created for all of us a safe and loving haven. They couldn’t have done this had they not known that God’s love is real, and we can depend on it come what may.

In 2Corinthians 5:7, God tells us to walk by faith and not by sight. He doesn’t expect us to walk around with our physical eyes covered, but He’s letting us know that living based only on our five-sense knowledge will not take us where faith can. When it comes to dealing with adversity, sometimes we interpret having strength as maintaining a certain amount of control over things. We think we have to know all the facts or know what’s going to happen before we can trust. Well, God tells us to trust first! He wants us to depend on Him to lead, guide, and direct our steps. Not only must we have faith in His divine direction, but we must have faith that we will hear when He speaks.

Ephesians 3:20(NLT) tells us, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” How many times have people told us that we couldn’t do this, or couldn’t accomplish that? How often have people tried to put us down, or to influence us to quit pushing when the odds were stacked against us? We serve a God who has no barriers! His power is limitless! Our Heavenly Father is in the business of blessing His people beyond anything we could ever ask or think. He far exceeds our expectations, but you and I are not left out of the equation when it comes to this verse. God tells us that His mighty power is working on the inside of us. He wants us to know that some important spiritual work is happening deep in our souls. Even though we may not sense it, we are commanded to trust it. Our responsibility is to bring what He’s placed on the inside of us out in the open, by trusting His love and walking in it.

Hebrews 2:1 (NLT) tells us, “So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.” When we have difficulties in life, we are sometimes tempted to tighten our rein on a situation and try to steer it our way. This is one of those old patterns that we had when we walked by sight. Again, God’s standard is that we walk by faith; there is no greater way to live. Is it always easy? No. It requires dedication, discipline, and a made-up mind. We have tremendous examples in God’s Word, and in our own lives, of people that have demonstrated that God’s way is always best.

We serve such a loving Father. He grants us grace and mercy, and He forgives us for our sins, stubbornness, and unwillingness to abandon our worries and trust faithfully in Him. Many single parents face tremendous challenges, and it can seem at times that they come from every direction. You can feel like all hope is lost when you have mouths to feed and not enough finances to take care of your obligations. The enemy wants to use these trials to zap your strength and convince you that God’s not going to handle the situation, but this is not the truth. God is working in you! To see His power flourish in us, we need to turn our thoughts and feelings to what Christ is doing, not what the devil is doing.

Hebrews 11:27(NLT) tells us,“It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.” This is precisely what you and I must do! We can never make the mistake of drifting away from God’s truth, not when the struggle is heavy, and not for the sake of a man’s companionship. Our responsibility is to saturate our minds and hearts with God’s love, to let it be activated in us, and to let it flow through everything we impact and touch.

Psalm 95:7(NLT) assures us, “for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today!” Don’t just seek God when your life starts to unravel, or when tragedy knocks at your door. He is our Protector, our Refuge…our Everything! This is the way we must see Him all the time. He tells us to listen to His voice, and we should never take our eyes off of Him, because we can be assured that He never takes His eyes off of us. He watches over us, and He will reward us when we place our trust in Him. ■